justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Mario

On a recent cab ride to the Denver airport, I was privileged to meet Mario, my driver who was about 22 years of age. Our casual conversation soon turned to family and I asked where he was from. When he told me South Sudan, it was almost as if time stood still as we talked during the entire 45-minute ride from Boulder. Mario was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan!

Mario ran from the conflict at the age of six, and was on the run until age 17. When he finally arrived at a U.N. refugee camp, he weighed a mere 70 pounds on a 5 feet, 6-inch frame. He was seriously emaciated and malnourished, possessing only the clothes on his back and well-worn shoes on his feet.

Mario was questioned dozens of times. Since none of the boys had any identification, it was critically important to convince the governmental and aid workers that he was not a terrorist.

With that great task accomplished, Mario was finally given a change of clothes, medication for his many maladies, and a daily meal of a mush-like porridge he was served each of the 22 days he was in the camp. Eventually, the aid workers gave him some money that he promptly spent at (of all places) a Burger King near the camp. He ate things he’d never seen, let alone tasted before in his life: French fries, ice cream, chicken nuggets, and carbonated drinks. In the camp, he also heard a radio for the first time in many years, and watched his first television.

(An aside: on the way to the airport, he asked if I would mind if he dropped off some groceries for his two baby girls. I was able to meet his lovely wife Grace, and their two children, ages 18 months and 3 months.)

Mario described to me how he’d lived off the land, surviving in the dense underbrush of the terrain for many years, evading capture and the forced conscription into the rebel army. That was the unfortunate fate for many of the orphaned boys like him.

Finally, a church agreed to sponsor him. He came to Syracuse, New York in the spring. He then set about to learn English, and in his first winter there, experienced snow for the first time.

We talked of raising kids, school, television, and the overwhelming variety of temptations his girls will face as they grow up. We talked about the culture shock to which he is still adjusting. He confided in me that after saving enough money, he intends to attend community college. He is committed to becoming a teacher.

When we parted, we exchanged email addresses. I’m looking forward to following his progress towards realizing his dream.

Serendipity rears its incredible head once again, as life continues to spoil me with unexpected and unplanned blessings.